Chargois Having TJ surgery

[ScottyB]

According to Mike Bernadino, JT Chargois is having TJ surgery in 2 weeks or so. Another Twins pitcher succumbs.

 

Minnesota Twins prospect J.T. Chargois to undergo surgery - TwinCities.com

[snepp]

Where does/did he rank among the Twins pitching prospects?

[Mike Sixel]

Feel bad for him, really. It sucks to get hurt.

[PseudoSABR]

He's young enough that he'll still have plenty of time to rebuild his stock; iirc, he was thought to be a fast mover through the system as a reliever.

[Seth Stohs]

Another reason to follow me on Twitter (and that I need to remember to post things here in the forums):

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[nicksaviking]

I feel bad for the guy. What changed since this spring? Why wasn't this decided early in the summer?

 

Also, that was some jab by Berardino throwing the subtle note about Alex Wood being drafted 13 picks after Chargois. Completely unrelated and disjointed compared to the informative direction of the article but totally in tune with the underlying tone, that being his implied opinion that the Twins are not very good at drafting pitchers.

[Seth Stohs]

I feel bad for the guy. What changed since this spring? Why wasn't this decided early in the summer?

 

Also, that was some jab by Berardino throwing the subtle note about Alex Wood being drafted 13 picks after Chargois. Completely unrelated and disjointed compared to the informative direction of the article but totally in tune with the underlying tone, that being his implied opinion that the Twins are not very good at drafting pitchers.

 

Yeah, I generally disagree with that line of writing. I mean, why not pick the guy taken right after him, or three picks later, or 22 picks later.

[ashbury]

his implied opinion that the Twins are not very good at drafting pitchers.

 

Yeah, them and 12 other teams if I counted right. ZOMG, a late second-round draft pick turned out to be good!!!11!

[Shane Wahl]

Where does/did he rank among the Twins pitching prospects?

 

He was pretty high up, but I personally don't even put him on my list. A full season gone and now another. I don't have much faith in this at all.

[Seth Stohs]

He was pretty high up, but I personally don't even put him on my list. A full season gone and now another. I don't have much faith in this at all.

 

mlb.com had him at about 15. I've never ranked him in the Top 50, I don't think. I usually rank relievers lower than starters, so I may not be the best judge for that. But, he's a reliever with an upper-90s fastball, so he's got a shot.

[Mike Sixel]

not a fan of drafting relievers in general, and certainly not in round 2.

[bird]

MLB once ranked him #9 in our system. Nine others have ranked him in their top 20. Seth, you ranked him #33 not so long ago according to my little spreadsheet.

[Mike Sixel]

It really is too bad, he clearly has serious talent. let's hope he comes back healthy.

[kab21]

This doesn't surprise me at all. My arm hurt a little after watching video of two of Twins RP'ers from last year draft (I think Bard and Chargois). I understand why they are tough to hit but their mechanics did not look good at all.

[righty8383]

Every time I see a relief pitcher go under the knife, it seems like more evidence that mechanics (and maybe even just bad luck) have a greater impact on health than pitch count. Why else would guys who throw 60 innings a year ever have to get TJ surgery?

[diehardtwinsfan]

This is speculation, but I'm not the only one who has said it. I honestly think that how managers use relief pitchers tends to increase the tendency of getting injured (particularly the way Gardy does it). I cannot imagine that it's good on the arm to warm up, throw at 110% for an inning (or a batter in Gardy's case), and then do it again the next day. Add to it the number of days they have to loosen up and never get called in. My guess is that it's far better for their arms to warm up and pitch 2 or 3 innings and get the next day off.

[diehardtwinsfan]

The other question I have to ask, is why in the world it took so long for this to happen? Is this another Twins medical staff issue? Chargois has been injured all year long and only now are they doing TJ.

[IdahoPilgrim]

The other question I have to ask, is why in the world it took so long for this to happen? Is this another Twins medical staff issue? Chargois has been injured all year long and only now are they doing TJ.

 

Fair question, but I do think the medical staff has been more consistent this year, at least at the major league level. We haven't lost nearly the number of games we did last year, and they have been more aggressive in putting players on the DL so as to not waste a roster spot. I have seen very little complaint about the medical staff on these forums this year.

[TRex]

Chargois has been injured all year long and only now are they doing TJ.

 

This line is starting to grow really old... WHY do TJ surgery before you have to, and why would you want to do it before now?

 

If you do it in June, like many fans want, the pitcher could be ready for spring training the following year... big deal! They are going to be on a strict pitch/innings limit, especially Chargois, who didn't pitch much this year. If he's ready for spring training and breaks camp with Fort Myers, he reaches his innings limit in May, and is then shut down for a much longer time than he is used to. Instead, the Gibson/Wimmers timeline shows the (IMHO very well thought-out) blueprint that the trainers want for rehabilitation after TJ surgery... back on the mound in June, in games in late July or early August, build up innings through the AFL or Instructional League, have a 'normal' off-season and be ready for a full schedule of games the following year.

[nicksaviking]

This line is starting to grow really old... WHY do TJ surgery before you have to, and why would you want to do it before now?

 

If you do it in June, like many fans want, the pitcher could be ready for spring training the following year... big deal! They are going to be on a strict pitch/innings limit, especially Chargois, who didn't pitch much this year. If he's ready for spring training and breaks camp with Fort Myers, he reaches his innings limit in May, and is then shut down for a much longer time than he is used to. Instead, the Gibson/Wimmers timeline shows the (IMHO very well thought-out) blueprint that the trainers want for rehabilitation after TJ surgery... back on the mound in June, in games in late July or early August, build up innings through the AFL or Instructional League, have a 'normal' off-season and be ready for a full schedule of games the following year.

 

Chargois is a reliever, it's doubtful he would have the same pitch-count issues that a starter would.

 

Why the decision took the time it did is a valid question as he likely has lost an entire season, we surely won't see him until 2015 at this point. I also assume this lost season will still count against the Twins in regards to future 40-man and Rule V decisions.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Chargois is a reliever, it's doubtful he would have the same pitch-count issues that a starter would, and because of the nature of being a reliever.

 

Why the decision took the time it did is a valid question as he likely has lost an entire season, we surely won't see him until 2015 at this point. I also assume this lost season will still count against the Twins in regards to future 40-man and Rule V decisions.

 

He's lost 2013, and he will lose 2014. He has 2015 to do his first year back, which most pitchers tend to struggle after this surgery. He's a 40 man decision for the 2015 offseason.

 

I'm not saying operate just to operate, but there's definitely a legit quesiton as to why this took so long for the decision to be made. Allowing him to take his recovery lumps in 2014 might allow them to be somewhat aggressive with him in 2015 as to where he's placed to see if he's worth a 40 man spot.

[beckmt]

Chargois is a reliever, it's doubtful he would have the same pitch-count issues that a starter would.

 

Why the decision took the time it did is a valid question as he likely has lost an entire season, we surely won't see him until 2015 at this point. I also assume this lost season will still count against the Twins in regards to future 40-man and Rule V decisions.

 

Probably, we have the same issue with Wimmers, he needs to be put on the 40 man roster this fall or Twins could lose him. Some bad team will take the chance.

[TRex]

I don't think he will 'lose' 2014, he will (hopefully) be pitching by mid-July and get into 10-15 games before the minor league season ends. He is/was a major college reliever, so he should be experienced enough to go to Instructionals for September and the first half of October and then pitch in the 30+ game AFL season. They always need relievers, so it's not like he would block another prospect. That would give him almost as many appearances/innings as he would have gotten in a full minor league year (~16 vs. 20 weeks).

 

I think it is fine if you still dislike the policy, but I think the Twins (and other teams) have shown us that this is what they think is the best route (and I personally think it is a defensible position).

[Oxtung]

The biggest problem I have with "questioning" is that it assumes the Twins are making the decision. But they don't. It is up to the player to decide the best course of action. I know that if I had the option of waiting for my body to heal itself or undergoing a proceedure that has a real chance of ending my career, the surgery would be my last resort.